Movie lovers have faced an unusual — but wonderful — conundrum this fall: With so many excellent films in theaters and a limited amount of time in the day, should they see “Gravity” or “Captain Phillips”? “12 Years a Slave” or “Dallas Buyers Club”?

The choices will grow more difficult in the coming weeks, as high-profile sequels and more Oscar contenders arrive on the big screen. There's something for everyone: “The Hobbit” and “Hunger Games” sagas continue, Will Ferrell becomes Ron Burgundy once again, and “Black Nativity” and “Frozen” light up the holidays with songs.

Read on for a guide to movie releases worth your time this holiday season. Some films bring the action and some deliver laughs; some movies follow characters behaving badly and some deal with family drama (occasionally, those overlap, of course); and, yes, some movies might duke it out for best picture.

Friday

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (PG-13): Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen, the plucky heroine from Suzanne Collins' dystopian trilogy of young adult novels. This second installment picks up where the first film left off. Just after Katniss and one of her two love interests, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), win the kids-only gladiator-like bloodbath that is the Hunger Games, they find themselves being carefully monitored by Big Brother. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jena Malone join the first film's already starry cast.

“Delivery Man” (PG-13): Vince Vaughn plays it fairly straight in this English-language adaptation of the Canadian film “Starbuck.” His character, David Wozniak, is a listless middle-age guy who finds out that a trip to the sperm bank in his younger years resulted in 533 offspring. Worse, they're trying to uncover his identity. When he sets out to covertly find out who his sons and daughters are, he winds up helping them and — ta-da! — finding purpose in his life.

“Frozen” (PG): In Disney's next musical adventure, Anna (Kristen Bell) sets off in search of her exiled sister, the Snow Queen (Tony-winning Broadway luminary Idina Menzel), who has a King Midas-like touch — only everything she rests a hand on turns to ice. “The Lion King” (1994) was the last Disney musical to produce truly memorable tunes, but there are high hopes for the songs penned by three-time Tony winner Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, a Drama Desk Award winner.

“Oldboy” (R): Ten years ago South Korean director Chan-wook Park gained stateside recognition for his hyper-violent movie about a man who is inexplicably kidnapped and imprisoned for decades, then set free without explanation. Now, the movie is getting an English-language makeover. Spike Lee directs Josh Brolin as the recently liberated protagonist, who goes looking for vengeance and winds up with plenty of blood on his hands.

Dec. 13

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (not yet rated): Behold the second installment of Peter Jackson's trilogy of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel. This time, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), along with Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarves, soldier on, avoiding the dangers of wood elves and massive arachnids before arriving at Lonely Mountain, the home of the menacing treasure-hoarding dragon, Smaug.

“Nebraska” (R): You can almost smell the alcohol emanating from the pores of an utterly disheveled Bruce Dern in this black-and-white drama, which earned the prolific actor an award for his performance at Cannes earlier this year. Dern plays an aging boozer who's convinced he won $1 million and drags his son along as he travels from Montana to Nebraska to claim his dubious prize. Also noteworthy: The son is played by “Saturday Night Live” alum Will Forte in an uncharacteristically serious role.

Dec. 20

“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” (not yet rated): Everyone's favorite misinformed newscaster, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), is back on the big screen alongside his idiotic sidekicks. The sequel finds the still-mustachioed Burgundy leaving San Diego to break into the 24-hour news business in New York City, where he will no doubt offend all women, gay people and minorities he meets.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” (R): This is the latest from the Coen Brothers, which is all some people need to know before racing to the theater. The film is being hailed as among the filmmakers' best work. The funny-sad story was inspired in part by musician Dave Van Ronk's life; it follows folk musician Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) in the early 1960s as he navigates the harsh realities of trying to make it in New York City.

Dec. 25

“Grudge Match” (PG-13): Sylvester Stallone is treading familiar territory with yet another boxing film. Sly plays Razor, an aging former champion lured out of retirement with a publicity stunt that pits him against his longtime nemesis, the Kid (Robert De Niro).

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (not yet rated): Ben Stiller directs, and it looks like he's channeling Michel Gondry with a side of Wes Anderson. Stiller also plays the title character — loosely based on James Thurber's New Yorker short story — a milquetoast guy who frequently escapes into an imaginary world where he's a triumphant hero and ladies' man.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” (not yet rated): The frequently collaborating duo of director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio brings to life the memoirs of ex-con Jordan Belfort. DiCaprio plays the trader who enjoyed the excesses of the 1990s financial industry a bit too excessively.